UN Security Council holds consultations on Yemen as peace deal stalls

UNITED NATIONS (Rahnuma) The Security Council on Wednesday held closed-door consultations on Yemen at a time when an agreement between the government and Houthi rebels seems to have stalled.

“The (UN) Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, briefed council members on the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement. He informed council members that we are still working with the parties to make the redeployment (of troops) in Hodeidah a reality,” Stephane Dujarric, the UN secretary-general’s spokesman, told reporters.

The redeployment of troops in Hodeidah and other two Red Sea ports is part of the Stockholm Agreement reached in December 2018 under UN auspices.

Asked if the United Nations has a sense that the agreement is unraveling, Dujarric said: “I would not use the term ‘unraveling.’ I think patience and determination (is) really the name of the game. No one expected this to be easy.”

He said Griffiths and Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, the UN official who oversees the redeployment of troops, are determined to help the parties reach an agreement to implement what was agreed to.

French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre, who chaired the Security Council consultations, said that everything was on the table and was discussed “in a very very good spirit.”

“It was an outstanding session. Very good session, strong agreement to support Martin Griffiths and Gen. Lollesgaard.”

German ambassador Christoph Heusgen, who attended the consultations, said “there was frustration” around the table over the lack of progress.

But he added: “There is no alternative but to continue on that process and to use all the different channels that are at our disposal to get the parties to implement the Stockholm Agreement.”

He said the briefers “gave a full picture of the situation in Hodeidah” and the status quo of other hot spot issues concerning the Stockholm Agreement.

Representatives of the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed last month on the first phase of troop withdrawal from Hodeidah. But the agreement has not materialized. Along with the lack of progress in the redeployment of troops, there are worrying reports of intensified fighting on the ground.